Montana First in Nation for Least Sustainable Credit Card Debt

The personal finance website Wallet Hub is out with another survey in which Montana has fared poorly.

According to the website’s information, Montana has the number one least sustainable credit card debt and the ninth highest overall credit card debt in the country according to Wallet Hub economist Jill Gonzales.

“The typical adult in Montana has just under $2,600 worth of credit card debt, and more specifically, $2,579,” said Gonzales. On top of that, there is another $270 just in interest charges. This is based on the average monthly credit card payment in the state, and that adds up to just under 15 months in terms of a payoff.”

Gonzales said Montanans, like millions of other American credit card holders, are not paying off their credit card debts in the most effective way.

“After paying all the bills, if there’s any money left over they tend to sprinkle it evenly across all their credit card bills,” she said. “While it’s good that you’re making an effort to pay them down, you really want to do that as strategically as possible. Pick the one credit card with the highest interest rate or the highest or lowest balance, put the minimum payment on all your other credit cards and then put the rest on paying off that card with the highest interest rate, and then repeat the process until you’re credit card debt free.”

According to Wallet Hub, Alaska has the most credit card debt, while the rest of the top five include the District of Columbia, Vermont, Washington and Colorado.